Research
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Southeast Asian politics – Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar/Burma, Brunei, Timor Leste, Thailand & Singapore
- Comparative politics – state formation, democracy, freedom, elections, human rights, party politics, political attitudes and political culture, peace, conflict and violence, Islam and Democracy
- Gender politics – gender participation, rights and gender equality
- International relations – ASEAN, US/Southeast Asia relations, aid flows, transnational challenges and humanitarian responses
CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH PROJECTS:
- Regime Support in Southeast Asia
- Democratic Citizenship and Youth in Southeast Asia
- Political Attitudes and Electoral Behavior in Malaysia
- Leadership and Political Institutions in Southeast Asia
- Women’s Participation in Politics in Southeast Asia
- Political Islam and Democracy
- Contested Internet Freedom and Democracy in Southeast Asia
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BOOKS
- 2021, Sabah From the Ground: The 2020 Elections & The Politics of Survival. (Co-edited with Vilashini Somiah & Benjamin YH Loh). (Malaysia: SIRD, Singapore: ISEAS)
- 2018, Regime Resilience in Malaysia and Singapore. (Co-edited with Greg Lopez). (Malaysia: SIRD and Rowman Littlefield)
- 2016, The End of UMNO?: Essays on Malaysia’s dominant party. (Malaysia: Petaling Jaya)
- 2014, Bangkit: Tempoh Pent Adbiran Abdullah Badawi di Malaysia. (Co-edited with James Chin)
- 2013, Awakening: The Abdullah Badawi Years in Malaysia. (Co-edited with James Chin). (Kuala Lumpur: SIRD)
- 2012, Democracy TakeOff? The Habibie Period (co-edited with Dewi Fortuna Anwar). (Jakarta: Sinar Harapan)
- 2012, Penang in Numbers. (co-authored with Ramesh Chander). (Penang: UPEN- Penang Institute)
- 2009, Impressions of the Goh Chok Tong Years in Singapore. (Co-edited with James Chin, Arun Mahizhnan & Tan Tarn How) (Singapore: National University Press)
- 2008, A Legacy of Engagement in Southeast Asia. (Co-edited with Ann Marie Murphy). (Singapore: ISEAS)
- 2004, Reflections: The Mahathir Years. (Washington, DC: Johns Hopkins University-SAIS)
SELECTED CHAPTERS AND ARTICLES
- 2021, “PAP’s Pandemic Backfire: The Covid-19 Factor in Singapore’s 2020 Polls,” in Kevin YL Tan and Terence Lee (eds.), Voting in a Time of Change: Singapore’s 2020 General Election. (Singapore: Ethos)
- 2021, “Worrying Flattening Curve: Women’s Political Participation in Southeast Asia,” in Women, Policy and Political Leadership: Regional Perspectives. Vol 2/2021.
- 2020, “Malaysia’s Political Polarization: Race, Religion, and Reform,” in Political Polarization in South and Southeast Asia: Old Divisions, New Dangers. Report prepared for Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
- 2019, “Back To The Past?,” ISIS Focus. Vol 1/2019, No. 9.
- 2019, “Euphoria Dashed: Malaysia’s Struggle With Political Transition,” Global Asia. Vol 14, No. 1 (March), pp. 84-96.
- 2018, “‘Saviour’ Politics and Malaysia’s 2018 Electoral Democratic Breakthrough: Rethinking Explanatory Narratives and Implications,” Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs. Vol 37, No. 3 (2018), pp. 85–108.
- 2018, “Special Issue Introduction: The 2018 Malaysian General Elections: The Return of Mahathir and the Exit of UMNO,” (with James Chin) Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs. Vol 37, No. 3 (2018), pp. 3-8.
- 2018, “From the Streets to the Courtroom: Judicial Electoral Contestation,” Relazioni Internazionali e International Political Economy del Sud-Est Asiatico. Vol. 3, No. 1 (March,) pp 5-6.
- 2017, “Trends in Soft Power in East Asia: Distance, Diversity and Drivers,” (with Kai-Ping Huang) Global Asia. Vol. 12, No. 1, Spring 2017, pp. 112-117.
- 2016, “So Close, but Yet So Far: Public Perceptions of ASEAN”, (with Kai-Ping Huang) ASEAN Briefs. Vol. 3, Issue 6, (August).
- 2016, “Political Identities, Engagement and Voting in Singapore’s 2015 Election” in Terence Lee and Kevin YL Tan, Change in Voting: Singapore’s 2015 General Election (Singapore: Ethos), pp. 191-219.
- 2016, “Clientelism and Control: The PAP’s Fight for Safety,” Round Table. Online Publication, March 16, 2016.
- 2015. “Elections in Malaysia: Voting Behavior and Electoral Integrity,” in Meredith L. Weiss (ed.), Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Malaysia. (London: Routledge Press)
- 2015, “Millennials and East Asia’s Democratic Future,” (with Yun-han Chu) Journal of Democracy, Vol. 26, No. 2, April, pp.151-64
- 2015, “Choosing China: public perceptions of choosing ‘China as a model’,” (co-authored with Alex Chang). Journal of Contemporary China.
- 2014, Youth and Democratic Citizenship in East and South-East Asia: Exploring political attitudes of East and South-East Asian youth through the Asian Barometer Survey. Reported prepared for UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Centre and Asian Barometer.
- 2013, “Malaysia’s: A Step Backward,” Journal of Democracy. Volume 24/2 (October), pp. 136-150.
- 2013, “Trauma and Triumphalism in Malaysia,” Current History. September 2013. Vol. 112.
- 2013, “Congruence and Variation in Sources of Regime Support in Asia,” (coauthored with Alex Chang and Yun-han Chu). Taiwan Journal of Democracy, Volume 9, No. 1 (July), pp. 221-237.
- 2013, “Southeast Asia: Sources of Regime Support,” Journal of Democracy. Volume 24/2 (April), pp. 150-164.
- 2011, “Does Difference Matter: Particular and National Identities in Singapore’s 2011 General Election,” in Kelvin YL Tan and Terence Lee (eds.). Voting in Change: Politics of Singapore’s 2011 General Election. (Singapore, Ethos Books)
- 2010, “Mobbing in Indonesia,” in Ashutosh Varshney (ed.) Collective Violence in Indonesia. (Boulder, Co: Lynne Rienner Press)
- 2008. “Muslim Professional Associations and Politics in Southeast Asia,” NBR Analysis. Volume 18/2 (March), pp. 35-51.
- 2006, “Malaysia’s Sarawak State Elections 2006: Understanding a Break in the BN Armor”. Report prepared for the National Democratic Institute, Washington, DC.